Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-11-10
A CLOSE CALL.
The Terrible Experience of q
Steeple- Climber.

A telegraph lineman was engaged in
adjusting a wire on the top of one OF
the high telegraph poles on Suffer
street Near the foot of the pole stood
the usual crowd of men and small boys
watching the operation. which always
serves to attract little knot of curl
GUS oilers.
The lineman sat contentedly on his
lofty perch apparently as unconcerned
as though unaware that false move
ment might. at any moment. dash him
TO the cruel stones beneath. a bruised
and bleeding corpse. He did not even
seem to be aware of the curious gazers
below. Still less did he seem to OBJ
serve tall and very wiry-looking
man about fifty years Of age. who was
passing along the street apparently
engrossed in his own thoughts and
paving no attention to his surround
ings. As the tall man neared the pole,
however. the little group of sight-seers
seemed to attract his attention, and,
apparently unconsciOusly. he cast his
eyes upward in the direction in which
they were looking.
As his glance rested on the lineman
a sudden and remarkable change in
his appearance took place. A ghostly
pallor overspread his features; a shud-
der passed through his frame. causing
his whole body to culver; his knees
bent. as if unable TO sustain the weight
they carried. and with a hoarse moan
he sank to the ground. With the aid
of gentleman who was passing. an
Alta reporter. who CHANGED that way,
picked up the fainting man and
1 carried him to neighboring saloon.
where. after the application of cold
water and wetting his lips with q
little brandy, he soon showed signs of
lreturning consciousness.
Thank you. gentlemen" said the
stranger. as the color began to return
to his checks; 1 am sorry for the
trouble have caused you. but it was
my own fault l ought not to have
done it"
Done what?" asked the reporter.
Il ought not to have looked up" re-
piled the stranger, and rs he said these
words the same pallor seemed to creep
over his features. and his eyes assumed
a startled look, as if under the spell of
some terrible recollection.
Feeling certain that a story lay at
the bottom of The man strange actions,
the reporter questioned him.
At first he seemed loath to answer.
or rather rs though he dreaded to re-
cur to a subject which was evidently
fraught with the memory of an intense
terror. but his strength returned. and
he suddenly said: Il confess that my
actions seem strange. but after your
kindess to me l feel that it is due to
You that should explain their cause.
have only the one objection to tell.
ing my story. and that is l am never
able to recur to the event which l am
about to relate without passing
through an experience similar to that
which you have just witnessed. How
ever. the feeling has passed over now,
and think can relate the story. if it
will interest you.
The reporter felt certain that it
would. and asked him to proceed. and.
without fur her preface. the stranger
did so. and told the following story:
Il am aporter to-day in large mer-
Camille house. but twenty-three years
ago was slate-roofer by trade and
followed that occupation in the Safe
of New York. Iprefer not to tell you
my name or where l am now working
as Idisliks notoriety and do not wish
to be subjected to the curious aques-
tionipgs of my friends and fellow
employees. But it is my story that
think will interest you and not my
name.
..Well. sir, rs was about to say, il
was about twenty-three years ago. and
was then about twenty-four years of
age, when my boss took the contract
10 finish the s:eeple of Methodist
church in little village in Warren
County, n. Y. and sent me there to
do the job
The steeple was about one hum
t1red and twenty feet in height Not
a very great height. you may say. for
a steeple; but you can take my word
for it that it looks a great deal higher
to the man near the top. looking down.
than it does to the man looking up
from the solid earth. Aa
r.Well. to make q long story short